University of Vienna Doctorate in Law 2016 Academic Year

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Research Project (Expose) 380034 SE Seminar in International Law (2016S)

Title “The Rights of Armenian Minorities in Lebanon and Turkey under National and International Laws”

Student name: KYFORK AGHOBJIAN, LLM Student number: 1563481 Email: [email protected]

Table of Contents Page

1. Title Page 1 2. Table of Contents 2 3. Introduction 3 4. Research Question 4 5. Literature Review 5 6. Theoretical Framework 8 7. Methodology 9 8. Structure 10 9. Thesis Statement/Added Value 12 10. Draft Table of the Contents of the Thesis 14 11. Timetable 15 12. Bibliography 16

1. Introduction

Armenian minorities have been living in the Middle East for centuries. They constitute a minority on four separate levels: ethnic or national (Armenian), linguistic (Western and Eastern Armenian languages) and religious (mainly Christian). Throughout the history Armenians have found themselves permanently at the mercy of stronger countries or empires.

Following the 1915 Armenian genocide, which accounted for up to 1.5 million deaths, many Armenians fled the region, taking refuge in Syria and Lebanon as well as dispersing worldwide. However, some Armenians remained in the homeland, in the area that became the Turkish Republic in 1923. Many Armenians—former Ottoman subjects, now Turkish citizens—continued to reside in those very ancestral towns and villages from which their compatriots had been evicted in one way or another. Over the course of the 20th century, there was a concerted effort for Armenians to move towards Constantinople, now Istanbul, which became a major Armenian centre for a new, evolved Turkish-Armenian community.

Nowadays, Armenian minorities exist in countries worldwide, and present-day Armenia, a country with approximately 3 million inhabitants, has links with global diasporas that number over 8 million. Many Armenians settled in Middle Eastern countries immediately adjacent to their homeland, but unfortunately these countries have found themselves at the heart of the world’s trouble spots, and have serious problems of their own to deal with, especially in areas related to peace, security, stability, rule of law, human rights and minority rights.

In order to explore the premise of this thesis and answer the question it poses, I have selected Lebanon and Turkey for detailed study, due to their individual complexities within a region that is itself challenging in legal, political, social and economic terms. Human and minority rights violations and majority-minority debates are already rife in these two states, and I believe that the historical experiences, as well as the legal, political and socioeconomic situation of Armenian minorities are worthy of study in both countries. By examining the ways national and international human rights laws are enforced and protected, or violated and ignored, the thesis hopes to highlight the problems facing Armenians in Turkey and Lebanon, and will provide theoretical and empirical benefits which would be of great value to human and minority rights discourses.

4-Research Question

The central research question addressed by this thesis will be the rights of Armenian minorities in Lebanon and Turkey. The thesis will examine to what extent are the rights of Armenian minorities in Lebanon and Turkey respected, protected and fulfilled, under international human rights law and, in the case of Turkey, the European Standards as well. More specifically to what extent are the rights of the Armenian minorities in Lebanon and Turkey compatible with Article 27 of ICCPR1, Article 30 of CRC2, Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities as well as European minority rights standards.

The Armenian community in Lebanon, as a management centre for Armenians in the Middle and Near East, plays a key role in the life of the region’s Armenian communities. However, it is facing profound challenges to the security and stability and emigration patterns, as well as difficulties in preserving Armenian identity. In Turkey, in addition to what Armenians in Lebanon are encountering, Armenians are frequently subject to anti-Armenian feelings based on prejudice, discrimination and racial hatred. In both countries, the rights of Armenians (i.e. right to life, right to existence, right to development, right to equality, right to freedom) are increasingly under pressure due to domestic and external disturbances and growing socioeconomic difficulties. It is worth noting that they also face linguistic restrictions, which may lead to the disappearance of the language (Western Armenian, which is spoken in Turkey and Lebanon, is on UNESCO’s “definitely endangered”3 language list). Thus, Armenians of Lebanon and Turkey are encountering profound problems in terms of enjoying and practicing their human and minority rights as well as fulfilling and satisfying their human dignity.

Moreover, the thesis will address local statutes and practices towards Armenian minorities in order to discover how the actual situation in Lebanon and Turkey is in accordance with national, European and international human rights laws. The thesis will seek to answer why the political rhetoric of these states argues that minorities are protected, when the reality is different? In this context, the

1 “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.” 2 “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to such a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion, or to use his or her own language.” 3 See http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php

4 thesis will also explore the role of Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora in protecting and promoting the rights of the Armenians in these two countries. Furthermore, the thesis will study the extent to which Armenians are aware of their rights and to what degree they are involved in human and minority rights activities and mechanisms both locally and internationally.

5. Literature Review

There is a considerable amount of literature on minority rights in general and minority issues in the Middle East in particular. The Middle East is home to many ancient and indigenous minority groups whose powerlessness makes their history little known—and indeed virtually hidden. Such powerlessness often signifies the absence of a public or recorded voice, or a platform on which minorities can articulate the existence, condition, and vision of their people.

Most of the existing literature deals with minority identities in historical, social and political contexts. Such an approach can provide the readers—and especially academics—with a huge amount of information in terms of the formation of minorities throughout history, how those minorities shaped their lives and what kind of challenges they have faced and are continuing to face. Some extremely valuable analyses exist, mostly in the form of academic work which examines the legal regimes and the national laws of the Middle East and compares them with international human rights law standards and principles (For example, the valuable publication Minority Rights in the Middle East4 by Joshua Castellino and Kathleen A Cavanaugh).

Nonetheless, existing literature on law and international human rights regarding minorities tends to have a broad and generalized approach, and not always takes a specific case study or considers a specific minority group which is the case for the Armenian minorities. For example, Duygu and Soner 5 analyse the implications of the Ottoman millet system which provided a framework for differential but unequal treatment of non-Muslim minorities, and review the modern establishment of the Republican minority rights regime based on the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne. They also analyse the universal principles of equality and non-discrimination embedded in the modern concept of

4 Joshua Castellino and Kathleen A Cavanaugh, “Minority Rights in the Middle East” 3 Ahmet I-C Duygu & B. Ali Soner, “Turkish Minority Rights Regime: Between Difference and Equality”, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 42, No. 3, 447 – 468, May 2006. 5 Ahmet I-C Duygu & B. Ali Soner , “Turkish Minority Rights Regime: Between Difference and Equality”, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 42, No. 3, 447 – 468, May 2006.

5 citizenship status, which were ignored in the Turkish context as regards the treatment of non-Muslim minorities. As such, they only focus on one general problem—that of minority rights, which in this article concerns equality and non-discrimination but does not discuss specific minority groups and their problems. Similarly, Derya’s Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish Law6 analyses the on-going dilemma of managing diversity in Turkey from a historical and legal perspective, arguing that the state's failure to accommodate ethno-religious diversity is attributable to the founding philosophy of Turkish nationalism and its extensive penetration into the country’s socio-political and legal frameworks. Derya states that Turkey is a civic nationalist state, based strongly on the grounds that its legal system is generously littered with references to Turkish ethnicity and Sunni Islam. She also argues that the nationalist stance of the Turkish state and its legal system has created a legal discourse which is at odds with the justification of minority protection given by international law. Derya demonstrates that a reappraisal of the founding philosophy of both the state and legal system is necessary, without which any solution to the dilemmas of managing diversity would be inadequate. Despite its importance in terms of minorities and nationalist discourse, no specific attention has been paid to the Armenian minority or their sufferings in purely ethnic terms. This type of literature is interesting, but not always useful in terms of identifying problems and finding proper solutions for individual scenarios or specific minorities. However, in terms of publications covering the Armenian minority in Turkey, one of the most important works dealing with this issue seems to be Hofmann’s report entitled “Armenians in Turkey Today - A Critical Assessment of the Situation of the Armenian Minority in the Turkish Republic”7. This report covers different aspects of the Armenian minority in Turkey, but almost 15 years have passed since its publication and many legal and social developments have occurred since then which need to be addressed in depth. The most prominent developments over the last decade and a half are described in Cheterian’s book Open Wounds: Armenians, Turks and a Century of Genocide8, include the assassination of the author Hrant Dink, a high-profile advocate of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, in Istanbul in 2007. His killing reignited the debate in Turkey on the annihilation of the Ottoman Armenians. Many Turks were soon reminded of their Armenian heritage, reflecting on how their grandparents were forcibly Islamised and Turkified, and the suffering

6 Bayir, Derya, “Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish law”, Ashgate, UK, 2013. 7 Hofmann, Tessa, “ Armenians in Turkey Today - A Critical Assessment of the Situation of the Armenian Minority in the Turkish Republic” The Forum of Armenian Associations in Europe, 2002. 8 Viken, Cheterian, “Open Wounds: Armenians, Turks and a Century of Genocide”, Oxford University Press, UK 2015.

6 their families endured to keep their stories secret. Until today, there has been no in-depth study on the legal status of those secret/Islamised and Turkified Armenians. As well as Muslim Armenians from 1915, the category of Hemshin has also been a hot topic among Armenian circles in recent years. The Hemshin consist of separate groups of people from north-eastern region of Turkey (from the Black Sea coast into the Caucasus) who have practiced Islam for centuries and who speak an Armenian dialect. The study and proper documentation of their history has only just begun. In addition, many decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding Armenian minority in Turkey, need to be examined in terms of their impact and consequences (for instance Yedikule Surp Pirgiç Ermeni Hastanesi Vakfı v. Turkey). Moreover, since the 1990s Armenians have been moving from their home country Armenia to Istanbul to take advantage of better economic opportunities. They work as labours, domestic help, and often they trade. They are not citizens of Turkey and sometimes they stay in Turkey illegally. At one point, in 2010, Prime Minister Erdoğan threatened to deport them in the aftermath of Western countries’ resolutions on the Armenian Genocide. In 2015, President Erdoğan repeated that threat in the aftermath of the European Parliament’s call for genocide recognition in the run-up to the centennial. Thus, the thesis will examine the status of the immigrants and point out the gaps in respecting, protecting and fulfilling their rights.

In this context, there are academic works on the roles the European institutions are playing and could play in terms of promoting minority rights in Turkey. For example, The EU and Minority Rights in Turkey by Toktas and Arass9, and Is There a Puzzle? Compliance with Minority Rights in Turkey (1999-2010)10 by Yilmaz, illustrate the kind of legal reforms Turkey has already adopted and what reforms are still needed in order to attain compatibility with European human rights standards. However, there are very few indications on how the Armenian minority in Turkey is utilizing European organizations’ available human rights mechanisms and instruments, how these instruments are reachable, useful or effective for them.

With regards to the existing literature on Lebanese Armenians, it should be clarified that although there has been an uninterrupted Armenian presence in the Middle East since the Ummayed

9 Tokas S., and Arass B.,“The EU and Minority Rights in Turkey”, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 124, No. 4 (Winter 2009-10). 10 Yilmaz, Gözde, “Is There a Puzzle? Compliance with Minority Rights in Turkey (1999-2010)”, “The Transformative Power of Europe“, Freie Universität Berlin. KFG Working Paper Series, No. 23, 2011.

7 era, the necessary academic research that examines the legal status and treatment of Armenian minorities under international human rights laws does not exist. There are, however, two valuable works in this context: (Re)constructing Armenia in Lebanon and Syria: Ethno-cultural Diversity and the State of the Aftermath of a Refugee Crisis11 by Migliorino, and Armenians of Lebanon: From Past Princesses and Refugees to Present-day Community12 edited by Boudjikanian. These two works deal mainly with the Armenian presence during the Crusades, the refugee period, Armenian politics, Armenian associations, Armenian culture, media and education in Lebanon during different stages of the twentieth century. The publications also cover Armenian political parties and the issue of Genocide recognition; the civil war Years (1975–1991) and the relationship between the state and the Armenian Church amongst other issues. However, they exclude any deep examination of the legal status of the Armenians in Lebanon and the extent to which their minority rights are respected, protected and fulfilled within the Lebanese legal system according to international human rights laws. In addition, in the past decade Lebanon has become a destination for thousands of Iraqi and Syrian refugees fleeing the wars in their countries. Currently, an estimated number of more than fifteen thousand Iraqi and Syrian Armenian refugees live in Lebanon, whose rights and problems are not addressed and examined properly.

This thesis will specifically address the above-mentioned gaps in the existing literature on Armenian minorities, but will also consider minority studies and comparative national and international human rights. The research will rely not only on literature written in English, but also on Armenian, Turkish and Arabic literature, as I know these languages very well.

6. Theoretical framework

Within the social sciences, and within law and legal regimes, there are different methodologies and theoretical frameworks dealing with questions related to minority and majority identities. My understanding of the debates and problems concerning minority identity construction is informed by some of these comparative methods. My examination of the status of Armenian minorities in Lebanon and Turkey cannot be exhaustive, but will be grounded in international law and national laws, with all

11 Migliorino, N, “(Re) constructing Armenia in Lebanon and Syria: Ethno-cultural Diversity and the state in the Aftermath of a Refugee Crises”, Berghahn Books, USA, 2008. 12 Boudjikian, A, Edt. “Armenians of Lebanon: From Past Princesses and Refugees to Present-day Community”, Armenian Heritage Press of the National Association for Armenian Studiesand Research (NAASR), Belmont, MA, USA. 2009.

8 the caveats and limitations thereof. Moreover, I will look at primary sources in their original languages. I would hope that this methodology would lead to further examination and cross-discipline debate.

However, tackling the question of minority rights in Lebanon and Turkey cannot be limited to an examination of the laws that seek to protect minority communities. It is only by revisiting the historical social formation of the multiple geographies of the region that we can begin to understand the genesis of identity politics in the area. Therefore, the thesis will also analyse the situation faced by the Armenian minorities in each of these countries during different historical stages.

I am planning to undertake research visits to the relevant countries to conduct empirical research and interviews by meeting representatives of different political, religions and community leaders from the Armenian minorities as well as relevant officials from NGOs, associations relevant to different minorities, youths and academics. In addition I will conduct quantitative research by producing survey research in the form of questionnaires. All of this will provide me with necessary research data on which I can carry out statistical and qualitative analyses.

7. Methodology To address the question posed by the thesis in the most constructive and practical way, the thesis will adopt the following methodology: 1. An analysis of existing legal documents, treaties, laws and jurisprudence regarding minority rights in international and regional levels. The thesis will study the relevant documents and laws in international law regarding minority rights, such as the Article 27 of ICCPR, Article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Childs and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the reports of the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, the reports of the annual Minority Rights Forum of the Human Rights Council. With regards to the European laws, the thesis will study the relevant laws and documents such as the Framework Convention for the protection of National Minorities, The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the reports of the OSCE’s High Commissioner of National Minorities. After analyzing pure minority rights in international and European laws, the thesis will analyze non-discrimination laws and documents that are related to minority issues. Hence, it will study the reports and documents of the Human Rights Council, Universal Periodic Review, The Office of the United Nations High commissioner for

Human Rights, the Office of the United Nations High commissioner for Refugees, UNESCO, the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Committee, and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as well as the non-discrimination laws laid down in the European Charter for Fundamental Rights and the European Convention for Human Rights. By examining Armenian minorities as a case study, this thesis will explore the extent to which states adopt and apply internationally accepted human rights measures and recommendations related to more general minority rights, as well as the extent to which minorities in these countries benefit from these international principles. 2. An analysis of the current legal regimes and institutions for respecting, protecting and fulfilling minority rights in each country, including the constitutional, administrative, judicial, electoral, socioeconomic and local frameworks, and a comparison of each country’s systems against the standards laid down by international law. 3. An analyses of the internal laws of Armenian minorities in Lebanon and Turkey. In these countries, each Armenian denomination has its own internal codes and regulations. For instance, the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic community are still regulated by the Armenian National Constitution, which in Ottoman Turkish is referred to as the “Regulation of the Armenian Nation”, a document that was written in 1860 and approved by the Ottoman Empire in 1863. The thesis will study these regulations, their legal validity and impacts as well as their compatibilities with human rights principles. In addition, it will consider the current difficulties and contradictions surrounding the application of the internal codes and regulations, and will find the gaps that need to be addressed by the current standards of effective minority group management.

8-Structure

The thesis will take the following structure:

After and introductory section the thesis will outline the main principles and content of International Human Rights Laws with regards to respecting, protecting and fulfilling minority rights. In this section there will be a detailed analyses of current minority rights provided by international law such as the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, ICCPR, CAR, as well as Case laws related to minority rights. This analyses will serve as a baseline and yardstick to answer the research question. This will be followed by a summary

10 of the history of the Armenian minorities in Lebanon and modern Turkey and an examination of their legal status at different historical stages. The thesis will study the Armenian minority under the early Ottoman Empire and during its collapse, as well as during the period of western colonization and decolonization in the region.

The following part of the thesis will be divided into two main sections. The first will deal with an examination of the rights of the Armenian minorities in Lebanon, while the second will be an examination of those same rights in Turkey.

In the Lebanese section, the thesis will study the following subsections: the minority rights regime in Lebanon; the rights of the Armenian minority within the Taif Agreement, Lebanese constitution, and relevant laws covering these rights; the rights of the non-Lebanese citizen Armenians in Lebanon, the internal regulations of the Armenian institutions and their compatibility with human rights, the Armenian level of participation in the public, economic and social life of Lebanon, the rights of the Armenian minority from the perspective of international human rights monitoring bodies and finally current challenges and possible legal remedies to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the Armenians in Lebanon.

In the Turkish section, the thesis will examine the following subsections: the minority rights regime in Turkey; Armenians as indigenous people in modern Turkey, the formal structure and internal regulations of the Armenian institutions and their compatibility with human rights; hidden – Islamised Armenians and their legal status, the problems of non-Turkish citizen Armenian migrants in Turkey; the participation of Turkish Armenians in the public, economic and social life of Turkey, the rights of the Armenian minority from the perspective of international human rights monitoring bodies and the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights; the role of the rights of the Armenian minority in Turkey’s participation in the OSCE; the role of the rights of the Armenian minority in Turky’s relations with the European Union and finally current serious challenges and remedies ti respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the Armenians in Lebanon.

In this context, the thesis will examine the extent to which available international and European human rights mechanisms are effective in promoting and protecting Armenians and their rights in Turkey and Lebanon. In addition, it will consider how the Armenian minority in Turkey is utilizing available human rights mechanisms and instruments in the context of European Institutions and examine the ways in which Turkish authorities are dealing with the judgments of the ECoHR regarding cases raised

11 by Armenian minority members.

After examining the rights of the Armenians in Lebanon and Turkey in these separate main sections, the thesis will make a comparison between “sectarian” Lebanese and “secular’ Turkish minority rights regimes. The thesis will explore gaps and stress-points in each state’s practice and examine how the practice of each state affects the lives of the same sub-sets of the Armenian people.

Following on from here, the thesis will continue by answering the following questions: What role is the Republic of Armenia playing to promote the rights of its minorities, and to what extent does the relationship between Armenia and each of the two states help or hinder the rights of Armenian diasporas in these countries? How does the work of both the Armenian state and the Armenian diaspora in terms of the official recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkish authorities affect the Armenian minority in Turkey?

Based on the above-mentioned research and the experience of the Armenian minority, the thesis will summarize its findings and conclude by proposing suggestions for promoting, protecting and fulfilling minority rights, regardless of the political system of the state. These suggestions will be founded on the principles of international human rights law and the pillars of minority rights discourse (protection of existence and prevention of violence against minorities; protection and promotion of minority identity; equality and non-discrimination and the right to effective participation in all areas of public, economic and social life). As such, it will suggest proper legal and practical amendments that would help ensure the protection and improvement of the rights of different minorities.

9.Thesis Statement/Added Value I believe that researching and documenting the rights of Armenian minorities from a perspective of national and international laws in Lebanon and Turkey will make a significant contribution to literary and legal-political discourses concerning not only the specific rights of the Armenian minorities but also minority rights in more general terms. I believe the thesis will offer the following added values: 1. Most of the work covering minority rights in the Middle East has concentrated on religious minorities and underestimates linguistic, ethnic and national claims. Armenians are particularly vulnerable, as they constitute religious, ethnic, national and linguistic minorities simultaneously. A comparison and evaluation of the legal systems regarding their political, civil, economic, cultural, linguistic and collective rights under different political systems

(sectarian Lebanon and secular Turkey) and the impact of these different systems on the Armenians could provide a proper foundation to propose legal and human rights mechanisms suitable for dealing with Armenian minorities which face a real threat to their existence and national identity. 2. There are very few analyses on the ways minorities use current international human rights mechanisms (ex. Universal Periodic Review and Minority Rights Forum) in order to raise awareness about their problems and to promote their rights in the countries where they live. In this context, studying the extent to which Armenians are aware of their rights and to what extent they are involved in human and minority rights activities both locally and internationally can provide an excellent ground-level snapshot of the effectiveness of international human rights bodies and mechanisms. 3. Armenians in Lebanon and Turkey have the status (even if it is not legally recognized) of being a religious, linguistic, national and ethnic minority at the same time, and are part and parcel of the people of these countries. Conducting an expanded, well-structured and developed research on their rights could therefore add great value to the literature on the national laws of each of these countries as well as promoting international human rights law and minority rights discourses. In addition, the thesis could provide the field of Armenian studies with a new research tool that analyses the situation of the Armenian minorities from a legal and international human rights law perspectives. 4. Based on the experience of the Armenian minority, the thesis could provide legal proposals and guidelines for other minorities across the world, helping them respond effectively in cases of (a) inter- or intra-state violence, during which Armenians have sometimes found themselves involuntarily standing in the crossfire; (b) the radical interpretation of local nationalisms, sometimes with associated racism and accompanying prejudices, to restrict private business and introduce some sort of state capitalism; (c) the resurgence of religion as a social and political current; (d) achieving sustainable peace and identifying paths for development within their communities.

10. Draft Table of Contents of the Thesis

1. Introduction

2. Main principles and contents of International Human Rights Law with regards to respecting, protecting and fulfilling minority rights. 2.1 Minority rights in General Human Rights Treaties 2.1.1. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 2.1.2 Convention on the Rights of the Child. 2.2 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. 2.3 European Standards 2.3.1. The Framework Convention for the protection of National Minorities 2.3.2. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages 2.3.3. The reports of OSCE’s High Commissioner of National Minorities. 2.3.4 The Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding Minorities. 2.4 The relevant reports of: the Special Reporture of Minority Issues, Universal Periodic Review and Minority Rights Forum. 2.6 Minority rights in the context of the right to equality & non-discrimination.

3. A brief history of the rights of Armenians in Lebanon and modern Turkey. 3.1 The rights of the Armenians during historical eras in Lebanon (i.e. late Ottoman Empire - French Mandate – Independence – Civil War). 3.2 The rights of the Armenians during recent historical eras in Turkey (i.e. late Ottoman Empire – Republic era).

4. Current rights of the Armenian minority in Lebanon. 4.1 The minority rights regime in Lebanon. 4.2 Tai’f agreement and the Lebanese constitution. 4.3 The rights of the Armenian minority within the Lebanese civil, electoral, social and economic laws. 4.4 The rights of the non-Lebanese citizen Armenians in Lebanon (i.e. Syrian and Iraqi Armenian refugees & labors in Lebanon). 4.5 The formal structure & the internal regulations and codes of the main Armenian institutions in Lebanon. 4.6 The Armenian level of participation in the public, economic and social life of Lebanon. 4.7 The rights of the Armenian minority from the perspective of international human rights monitoring bodies. 4.8 Current challenges and remedies to respect protect and fulfill the rights of the Armenians in Lebanon.

5 Current rights of the Armenian minority in Turkey.

5.1 The minority regime in Turkey. 5.2 Armenians as indigenous people of modern Turkey. Living in the homeland without a “homeland? 5.3 The formal structure & the internal regulations and codes of the main Armenian institutions in Turkey. 5.4 Hidden – Islamized Armenians and their legal status. The status and problems of non- Turkish citizen Armenian migrants in Turkey. 5.6 The participation of Turkish Armenians in the public, economic and social life of Turkey. 5.7 The rights of the Armenian minority from the perspective of international human rights monitoring bodies. 5.8 The rights of the Armenian minority from the perspective of the European Court of Human Rights. 5.9 The role of the rights of the Armenian minority in Turkey’s participation in the OSCE. 5.10 The role of the rights of the Armenian minority in Turkey’s relations with the European Union and membership negotiations. 5.11 Current serious challenges and remedies to respect protect and fulfill the rights of the Armenians in Turkey.

6. A comparison between “sectarian” Lebanese and “secular” Turkish minority rights regimes.

7. The Role and the Impact of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora on the lives of the Armenians in Lebanon and Turkey. Blessing or curse?

8. Findings and recommendations.

9. Conclusion.

11. Timetable

From July to December 2016  Literature research and review.  Overview and comparison of existing theories and arguments.  Examining legal documents, reports and available international instruments and mechanisms.  Developing and testing questionnaires.  Developing and testing interview guidelines.  Participation in the 9th Minority Rights Forum at the Human Rights Council.

From January to March 2017  Research visit to Lebanon.  Conducting interviews and questionnaires.

 Visiting Lebanese and Armenian official institutions, libraries and research centres in Lebanon.  Transcription of interviews.  Participating in local conferences and seminars.

From April to June 2017  Quantitative analysis of questionnaires.  Quantitative and qualitative analysis of interview transcripts  Analysis of data and information collected during the field research in Lebanon.

From July to September 2017  Research visit to Turkey  Conducting interviews and questionnaires.  Visiting Turkish and Armenian official institutions, libraries and research centres in Turkey.  Transcription of interviews.  Participating in local conferences and seminars.

From October to December  Quantitative analysis of questionnaires conducted in Lebanon. 2017  Quantitative and qualitative analysis of interview transcripts conducted in Turkey.  Analysing the data and information collected during the field research in Turkey.

From January to March 2018  Comparison studies and recommendations.  Completion.

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